The Dilemma
by FromPaintedLips
Summary: "I wish the girl lady would come and take you away, right now!" Whatever Sarah had expected from her adventures in the Labyrinth, it wasn't to be granting wishes.
1. The Dilemma

_**A/N:**__ Hi! So I haven't published anything on in about four years, (__in fact, I forgot my penname, and had to create a new account ha…ha…__) but this is the piece I was brave enough to post. I really hope you all like it!_

_It does have an OC who does play a role in this story, I know some people don't fancy that, I do apologize._

_I've reread it a gazillion times, all errors are my fault, and my English professor who told be semicolons had no business in the English language. He was a hockey player who majored in poetry. That's who taught me how to somewhat write. If you still read this story, I applaud you. _

_Disclaimer: Never have I ever owned the Labyrinth._

_**EDIT:**__ Fixed some errors thanks to the great and wonderful __**doctor's gal 1792 **__who I am forever in debt to. Some might still lurking about, beware._

* * *

The first time it had happened, Sarah had been completely bewildered and at a loss for what to do. The second time was just a surprising and equally confusing as before and left her apartment a disaster zone. After the third time, she went to her friends for help. To add more frustration, they were just as lost as she was but promised to look for answers for her. Again, it happened twice more before they finally returned. Hoggle and Sir Didymus, and even Ludo all found the same thing- all the blame was due to a story, a very oddly familiar one. Apparently, in the seven years since she ran the Labyrinth her tale had been told over and over again so much by the goblins, the Knockers, the Fierys, and even the False Alarms… Well, it had gotten warped and a bit twisted to say the least. Already she was perceived as the thing of nightmares to the Labyrinth's inhabitants, excluding the ones she befriended on her travels, of course. However, one thing led to another, wishes got made and she was forced to grant them.

"That doesn't even make any sense," Sarah said, reading through a book Hoggle had brought her of a goblin's equivalent to fairytales. It was mostly all pictures, some with happy endings, most without. Turning the page, Sarah recognized the images of her travels, regardless of how exaggerated they were. She turned her head, not sure if she was pleased or not about how she was drawn.

"Which part of it?" Hoggled asked, from where he sat at the vanity Sarah had brought with her from her childhood home, as he looked through her bits of costume jewelry, that had also been brought into her adult years.

"I don't have any magic, I don't understand how I can just-" She stopped suddenly, a cold chill going down her spine, her fingertips and toes tingled, the hair on the back of her neck stood up.

Her friends looked at each other and then to her, concern written all over their faces, "Milady?" Sir Didymus questioned softly.

She didn't reply though, instead her focus was on a faint, nasally voice in the back of her head-

"_I wish the Girl Lady would come and take you away, right now!" _

Without any choice of her own, Sarah appeared inside a room that was too small for her to properly fit without hunching over, "Ow." She rubbed her head after trying to stand up once she arrived, feeling all too much like Alice in Wonderland.

"You're her aren't you?" A scared tiny voice said, the same voice Sarah just heard. But this wasn't a late white rabbit, no it was a pintsized goblin, who couldn't have come up any higher than her knee. He was backed up all the way in the corner furthest away from her, "The girl solved the Labyrinth and beat the King."

"That's what I'm told." Sarah replied, attempting to shrug, 'Beat the King' was an interesting new addition to the title though, something she would have to think about later because before she could blink, the goblin was suddenly at her feet sobbing.

"Please oh please give him back, Lady, I didn't mean it! I swear! He's my only friend!" He lamented.

Sarah looked at the creature and leaned over to awkwardly pat his bumpy back, "There, there." She soothed, feeling sorry for the poor thing, after all she could sympathize "You can have your friend back," She told him.

"I can?" He blinked at her with watery eyes, rubbing the dribbling snot off his face with the back of his hand.

Sarah tried not to make a face and nodded, she thought about it for a moment, "Just as long as you don't tell anyone about this, okay?" She didn't need the goblins to be gossiping about her, confirming that she was indeed hundred percent real and living up to her tale. That could end up really bad really fast.

The goblin sniffled and nodded enthusiastically as he hugged her legs tightly, "Oh yes, Girl Lady, I promise!"

Then, just as quickly as she disappeared, she was back in her bedroom- which she now noticed looked like a war zone. Feathers were strewn everywhere including Ludo's fur, pieces of her bedding were torn, and anything that had previously been on shelves was now on the floor. Her friends looked just as dazed and confused as she had been. She couldn't have been gone longer than five minutes.

"Never… have I seen such a combat as frightening as or as frantic." Sir Didymus said, a dazed like look upon his foxish face.

Sarah sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping, "It was another chicken, wasn't it?"

* * *

Far away, in the throne room of the Castle Beyond the Goblin City, happy goblins sang and drank merrily, while their ruler was a portrayal of quite the opposite. He sat sprawled across on his throne, deep in thought, a scowl painted across his features. For some time now he could found distinct signatures left by transportation spells around the castle grounds. He couldn't trace nor remember seeing another one quite like it, but something about it seemed slightly familiar. There wasn't an immediate threat or danger that he could find, but it was still unnerving to have someone or something popping in and out of his kingdom without his knowledge. His subjects were no help at all, either. Last time he had asked a goblin if he had seen anything, he began wailing "Never again!" while clutching a poor chicken to him as tightly as possible. After the fourth discovery, however, Jareth had called in a bit of help from the most trusted source he had. Alerting any others from any kingdom would possibly show a sign of weakness in his defenses, which could lead to ideas for an attack against him that he didn't particularly feel like participating in anytime soon. He was so immersed into his thoughts he didn't notice a figure hiding closely to his side or so the figure thought.

"Really, Jareth, it's not fun at all to try to sneak up on you if you're not paying attention." The person complained, which got a response from the king.

"I've been aware since the moment you got here." Jareth replied without moving, "I've known you your entire life, I've long since memorized your tricks, and hiding behind a tapestry is certainly not your best."

The figure chuckled moving out from the shadows, "Oh yes, the disadvantages of having an older sibling." He sidestepped, avoiding a drunken rumble between two goblins.

"You make it sound as if I caused all the mischief, when I do believe you caused me nearly, if not more trouble." Jareth recalled, turning his head to look at the new arrival.

He practically scoffed, "I played tricks on you, but your revenge methods could hardly be classified as _fair_."

"It was all well deserved." Jareth said flashing a grin, "It's good to see you Micah, though I wish it were on better terms."

"What exactly is troubling you so much that I had to cross several kingdoms and a sea full of sirens as quickly as possible without a proper notice?" Micah asked with a smile, cocking his head.

"Yes, yes. I'm ever grateful for your haste." Jareth waved a dismissive hand, slightly more sobered he continued "A mild problem as occurred within the city, I seem to have a visitor who I can neither see nor find but have left more than a significant evidence of their presence. Being so gifted in your skill with tracking, I was wondering if you would aid me in finding this person or creature?" He asked to be polite, but it was a statement.

Micah hesitated as if to ponder about his request, "It is incredibly lucky that you are my favorite brother, Jareth." He told him.

"I am your _only _brother, Micah."

"Then the fates have surely blessed you," Micah replied with a slight smirk. "But why are we wasting time, bickering? Let's go see this evidence of yours."

Soon enough the two found themselves walking the cobble and dirt paths through the Goblin City, Micah observed the buildings closely noting every detail in his head, even before they were at their destined location he was frowning. "Well, what do we have here?" He mumbled to himself, examining the landscape "This place is pulsing with magic."

"This isn't the only area either." Jareth informed him, at Micah's quizzical expression, he led him to all of the sites. They were random, without pattern or connections. Three of them happened in the homes of the goblins, one in a tree, and two out in the open. They currently were on their way to one just in an alley behind the Goblin Market.

"How long has this been going on for?" Micah questioned.

"Nearly three months," the king answered. Jareth's words nearly caused his younger brother to stop in his tracks. "Indeed," Jareth said, his face a mask of disgust and annoyance.

"All of that was residual? Most of the time you can't even find a trace after a few hours, let alone weeks," Micah fussed, his eyebrows knitting.

"I'm very well aware of this fact, which is why I called you so urgently." He came to a stop then, "This is the second to most recent point," Jareth told him approaching the area. The most recent was a much too tangled space to hassle with, along with its weeping occupant, he had no desire to return there.

Micah analyzed the ground and surroundings, "I've never seen anything like this, if someone wants to be noticed, they're doing a good job of it," He commented. The whole alley was positively sparkling, "Perhaps the doing of a lost youth? The spell's remnants, regardless of how impressive, are much too messy for someone at least a little in control of their magic, this looks like a small explosion."

"Possibly, there's no tracing it either." Jareth informed him, "However, your guess is as good as mine."

"Very interesting," Micah hummed in thought. "Have the goblins or any other creatures seen or said anything about this? The worms maybe?"

Jareth shook his head, "All the goblins do is howl about some story, I can barely understand them at all. As far as I know this has only happened in the city, not in the Labyrinth, the Worms or anything else wouldn't know much more than you or me at this point."

Micah nodded, deciding to test the king's words, he pulled the attention of nearby passing goblins, "Excuse me, have you seen anyone who might look different or out of place recently? Possibly… appearing at odd places?"

"The Girl!" He screeched, instantly clasping its knobby green hands over his mouth "We cannot talk about the Girl!"

Micah was surprised at the reaction, whereas Jareth didn't seem to be fazed, "What girl?"

The one beside him clicked his tongue, chiding his friend, "It's just a story."

"Is not! I saw her." He protested, slightly muffled. "She takes things when you get mad at them, then gives them back when you miss them. You just have to say the right words. Wishing words."

The other goblin made a scoffing noise, "What a load of rubbish! Why would you give anything back?" He shook his head in disbelief. They bickered back and forth for a while about whether the Girl was real or not.

Micah had watched the whole exchange and decided let the two wander back off, seeing their fight just go in circles. He looked back up to his brother, "Does that mean anything to you?"

"Not that I can make sense of at the moment." For one brief moment, Jareth looked slightly uneasy, but quickly brushed it off, "I think that's enough for today." He began his way back to the castle, a small memory echoing in his mind, an idea he quickly ruled out.

Micah swiftly followed him, "Do you know who this girl might be?"

"A fragment of the goblin's imaginations, nothing more." Jareth replied, half thinking and half listening.

"What if she's real, though?" He pressed on, "My theory would prove right, it's just some lost young one, the goblins simply interpreted it however it made sense to them," Micah mused out loud.

"Oh dear, what have I started?" Jareth said with some amusement.

* * *

Sarah leaned over the sink fixing her lipstick and adding some extra hairspray to keep her curls in place throughout the night. She walked back into her room, fixing her dress she looked to her friend, "How do I look?"

Hoggle had his arms crossed, as he had the most of night, he eyed her closely, "You're goin' out lookin' like _that?_"

Self-consciously, she pulled at the hem of her black dress again, it wasn't impossibly short, but it wasn't conservative either, "I promise not to get into trouble," She smiled.

The dwarf snorted in disbelief, "Yeah right."

"Really, and I'll be home before midnight." She pulled on a bracelet and searched for her purse, her heels making clopping noises on the hardwood floor as she moved around the apartment.

"And what if ya get summoned while out there?" Hoggle fixed her with a stare.

She paused for a moment thinking, "It's never happened at night before. Knock on wood. Besides, there's not much we can do to help it at this point." She glanced over to where Ludo and Sir Didymus snoozed peacefully on her bed, Ambrosius curled at the end, how it held all of them was magical in itself. Hoggle made a noise of distaste at her shaking his head, muttering about lazy knights and silly humans. Sarah smiled at him and bent down to give him a hug, after a sigh of protest he returned it.

"Thank you, for helping as much as you guys can. I really do appreciate it."

"Yeah, yeah." He brushed off her gratitude, still after all these years not used to having her as a friend.

A loud long buzz from the intercom came from the living room, waking up all three sleeping creatures. Ambrosius and Sir Didymus went into to a barking frenzy, while Ludo just looked confused.

"Oh, brother," Hoggle rolled his eyes.

Sarah laughed, grabbing her things and waving, "That's my cue. I'll see you soon."

Hoggle watched her leave, shaking his head slowly, a plaguing feeling that refused to leave. He didn't know what, but something somehow was going to go terribly wrong tonight.

* * *

The two brothers had decided to simply walk their way back to the Castle as they talked and threw around ideas. Micah had talked to a few other subjects of the Labyrinth, and unsurprisingly most of them had no idea, but a handful or two had speculations, a few were completely disprovable, but one that shouldn't have come up so much was the Girl. Jareth was starting to tire of hearing it so much, it reminded him of someone who hadn't spoken to him in nearly a decade. He thought at first, perhaps, it might have been her causing all of this trouble, after all, he was fully aware of her involvement with her _friends,_ he knew they traveled over there frequently and even she had been here a few times. There was nothing he could do about it however, as he had no power over her. Even the thought made the king's jaw tighten. Nonetheless, no mortal could have had caused this mess without help of some kind.

"I think the one goblin was onto something, or maybe she's a powerful witch. Perhaps if we call on her, we might get our answer." Micah said aloud, one index finger tapping his chin as he pondered.

"How do you purpose we do that?" Jareth asked, stopping at the castle gates crossing his arms, he could've predicted the response.

"Say your right words." Micah grinned brightly.

"No," Jareth continued walking briskly up the steps.

Micah frowned catching up, "Why, do you actually believe in the folklore?"

The king sighed, holding the bridge of his nose, "No, but I do not wish to push my luck."

His brother stared at him for a moment, studying him, suddenly something one passerby goblin had mentioned, one who claimed to have met the Girl, how she gained her power came to the forefront of his mind, "Could possibly this girl have anything to do with you?" He asked carefully.

"Absolutely no involvement," He replied instantly, "That I can put together at this very moment, anyway." He added quietly, hoping the subject was dropped for a moment. Ever so slightly he was starting to regret bringing Micah into this. His brother was an excellent tracker, his skill far exceeded anyone else's in the entire Underground. Though, Jareth was starting to feel they were stumbling onto impossible theories or dead ends. Sometimes, certain things were better left to the unknown. They made it to the large doors of the castle, the guards automatically opening it for them.

Micah watched him a little longer, before continuing "We won't get very far if you're hiding anything from me, Jareth. I still think that-"

"Oh for the sake of our sanity- I wish that blasted girl would come and take you away." Jareth snapped, "Right now."

As soon as the words tumbled out of his mouth, he wanted to reorder time and take it back, it was a childish move, not the actions worthy of his title as a king. He stopped walking at the silence that threatened to engulf him. He no longer heard his brother's footsteps beside him. He whirled around to discover he was entirely alone.

"Micah, if this is one of your games, it certainly isn't amusing. Not now," Jareth called out into the empty dark hallway, but nothing returned his call but his own echo. Something was entirely wrong, he could feel it in his very bones, every muscle was tense, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Jareth already felt he lost the high ground, what was worse was that he was in his own home. He turned again, but this time he saw that he was not alone.

A dark silhouette stood in front of him impossibly still, he thought it might be a shadow for a split moment the way it froze. Instinctively, a crystal formed into his palm in defense. The figure seemed to notice this and held up a hand, stepping into the light.

"It _is _you_, _isn't it?" He stared coldly at her, she smiled weakly in return, his realizations hitting him in the chest like a stone, his face showed no emotion however. "You're the girl from the goblin's story."

"That's one title," She nodded, her eyes reaching up to meet his, unable to help it she added, "I think my favorite is '_the girl who the King of the Goblins fell in love with and gave certain powers_.' That was a one was fun to hear, a little too specific."

The crystal he held slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor, it didn't pop like a bubble, but instead it shattered like glass.

* * *

_Constructive criticism is needed, reviews are loved. c: _


	2. Those In Glass Houses

_**A/N**: There's really no excuse for the gap in between chapters, here. Halfway beta'd by the lovely **doctor's gal 1792.** I say halfway because I sent her a chapter 6 months ago, she fixed it all up and then I changed the entire end of it. So again, any mistake are mine._

_Thank you **SO FLIPPIN MUCH** to those who reviewed I didn't expect a fourth of what I got, it still makes me happy. Hopefully the story can live up to the expectations!  
_

_Also, this chapter without the author's note was 3,013 words. I thought that was rather nifty._

_Disclaimer: Tis not mine._

* * *

The intense sharp sound of the crystal crashing onto the floor echoed throughout the castle's hallways. Startled, Sarah's eyes were drawn to the sparkling, broken pieces that littered the floor. In a heartbeat she was moved against her will, her back was against something hard, it took her a moment to realize she was no longer looking at the floor, but instead into the cold mismatched eyes of the Goblin King, a gaze she hadn't seen in seven years. He had used the noise as a distraction to pin her against the wall by her shoulders.

She glared at him, "Already using dirty tricks, your majesty?"

Jareth ignored her words, "Where is he?"

He wished someone away, Sarah reminded herself, someone important judging by his reaction. Though she had never gotten a person before, the goblins and chickens all ended up in the same place, "My apartment, probably."

"Return him at once," He demanded, there was a hint of an unspoken threat in his voice.

Sarah frowned, crossing her arms in between them, he had made the wish, not her this time, to her he had no right to be barking out orders at her. It wasn't her fault she had to do what she was summoned to, his unnecessary, but truthfully not unexpected, hostility fueled her irritation "What's said is said." She replied, her stare matching his cold one.

His grip tightened on her shoulders, "Do not mock me." He snapped, and felt the magic she had flare in response, it alarmed him more than he was comfortable with. He looked her up and down, already seeing the little silvery and golden specks imbed themselves into the stone wall behind her, "How are you able to do this?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but faltered for a moment, genuine confusion crossing her face, "I don't know," She confessed. Really, at this point she didn't want to know either, she just wanted it gone, "I thought you might though."

Jareth looked at her for a moment, "I do not." He admitted, "Before you arrived I was investigating the one responsible for leaving a mess within my city." He released his grip on her and took a step back, his anger slowly resolving.

"Great," Sarah sighed heavily, her eyes closed as her fingers coming to rest on her temples, a headache was beginning to form. "Who was it you wished away?"

Jareth hesitated to answer, the sudden realization how painfully ironic the whole ordeal was, and it was quite the blow to his pride.

Sarah glanced up at his silence, "Your… Majesty?" She questioned, slightly awkward as she was at a loss of what to call him. She had never actually called him by name, just simply his title, it seemed weirdly informal to do so otherwise.

"My brother." He answered stiffly, he figured she would find out eventually.

Sarah stood still a little dumbstruck, with a cross between absolute disbelief and amusement at the Goblin King, they had completely switched roles, the irony of it was threatening to overwhelm her. She was halfway tempted to make a smart remark or comment, and by his looks he expected it as well. She refrained however, clamping down any laughter that dared to bubble up, though Sarah didn't imagine he would have done the same in her shoes. Despite the turn of events, an idea popped up into her mind, mixed slightly with a familiar memory.

"Well then," Sarah said in a calm voice, surprising herself and Jareth, though he didn't show it "How about I make you a deal?"

He studied her carefully for a moment, "A deal?"

She nodded, "How about you help me get rid of the powers, or gifts, or whatever you want to call them," She told him, maintaining her even tone as she finished "And in return you can have your brother back." After a side thought she added, "You seriously can't want me just popping in, taking away anyone or anything from the Labyrinth by anyone's call, do you?"

Jareth seemed to take her words seriously and mull over them, "No." He agreed after a moment, "However, what you're asking me would take some time, it is not something easily done in, for say, thirteen hours."

"I solved your entire Labyrinth in less than that." She felt compelled to bring up.

It earned her a glare from the King, "Yes that may be, but this is no physical obstacle in which I can see to overcome."

Sarah refrained from commenting on just how much of the Labyrinth she didn't see, trap doors, misleading walls, pathways that changed.

"It is an entirely different problem all together, it would take well over half a day's time just to gather the materials just to begin searching for an answer." He said in addition, at her body language and stare.

Sarah thought about it for a moment, "Okay, thirteen _days_ then." She said keeping the symbolic number, "One of us has to find something by then."

"You could return my brother whilst working to resolve the issue." Jareth pointed out, "You have already brought up a well enough reason for me to aid you, in addition to several of my own." The mess she left, the stories she started, the fact that every goblin seemed more terrified of her than him.

"Yeah well, think of it as collateral." Sarah said, a hand on her hip, still weary of trusting him, "For all I know this is all of your doing for whatever reason."

He should've hung her by her toes over the Bog of Eternal Stench, not that he could, however. He knew though that Micah would be more than fine in her care, if not a little disorientated "Very well." He agreed.

That sealed the deal, Sarah felt herself being drawn back, she looked at her watch, midnight exactly, "Thirteen days." She reminded him before entirely disappearing.

Jareth sighed to himself, now entirely alone in the vast hallway, a thousand thoughts ran though his mind at once this was something he had never expected to happen in all of his wild imagination. He tried not to focus on his lack of control in the situation, had felt her surge of raw magic that nearly overpowered him. It was frustrating enough to not have any power over her, but it was unnerving for her to have such power over _him. _He was very careful not to express his alarm throughout their conversation, she seemed oblivious of it though, making her harmless for the time being. Deciding not to waste a precious moment of time he began his way to the castle library to start his research.

* * *

Micah had found himself in one of the most peculiar places he had ever been in. At first when he arrived he thought for a moment his brother had sent him away to some part of the Labyrinth for annoying him, but he soon realized that was not the case. He concluded that he was in a bedroom of sorts, though it was one he had never seen the likes of. It was cramped, overstuffed with furniture, books and knick-knacks littered the floor, and mysterious tufts of orange covered the bed. The disorder of things rivaled the throne room in Jareth's castle, in fact Micah was pretty sure he even saw a few feathers scattered around. It looked as if someone had been attempting to put back things in order before leaving the job half finished. When he saw the distinct handprint of a goblin's hand on the wall, he ecstatically realized that his brother had said the right words, and he was in the residence of the Girl, intentionally or not.

"So, I guess you would be the Goblin King's brother." A female voice said from behind him.

"That depends on who's asking." He turned to become face to face with the legendary girl, however she was not what he expected her to be, hesitantly he continued, "I assume you're the one the goblin's have been talking about ever so much?"

She sighed, leaning against the doorway, so much for those little creatures keeping their mouths shut, "Yeah, but I prefer to go by Sarah."

"Sarah." He echoed, thinking out loud, eyeing her up and down, her outfit was one of the likes he'd never seen a woman from the Underground wear, perhaps not out of the bedroom at least. "Hm. You don't seem like a witch, or a sorceress, or a girl for that matter, maybe a succubus perhaps-"

Her eyes narrowed, "Look buddy, I don't know who you are, and maybe you're some big shot where you're from, but you're on my turf now so keep the rude comments to yourself." Sarah said, crossing her arms.

"My sincerest apologies," He told her, not that Sarah believed that he was. Suddenly he had a new set of questions, "Where exactly is 'Your Turf' as you so classify it?"

"My friend calls it the Aboveground." She answered, "Ever been here before?"

He shook his head as he looked around yet again, "I cannot say that I have, but I've heard quite a bit about it." His eyes then settled on hers, "So, if you are nothing of what I listed before, what are you?"

"Just a girl with some bad luck," She said honestly, with a shrug of her shoulders "That's it."

Micah fixed her with a disbelieving look, "No simple mortal girl can just take another from an entirely different realm without any sort of power."

"Well, I managing." Sarah replied, easily dismissing his questions, much to his dismay, "I don't think I ever got your name."

"Micah." He told her, a glossy covered book caught his eye, he delicately picked it up off the shelf one of the few left there, his curiosity getting the better of him.

"Just Micah?" Sarah asked as she moved to flop down on her bed, regardless if it was covered in Ludo fur, she was just too tired to care at the moment and standing in her heels all night was killing her. She stifled a groan as she remembered that she had just disappeared in front of her date, the guy must be flipping his lid at this point. Explaining what happened was not going to be fun at all.

Micah was nodding, "Yes. I assure you there's an unnecessary lengthy attachment to it, but like you I'm not one for titles." He put down her copy of The Wizard of Oz for the paperback of Gone With The Wind.

"Fair enough I suppose." She said kicking off her shoes, each one made a noisy clunk when they hit the ground.

Her casual attitude surprised him, a constant reminder he was no longer home. Another thought struck him, "So as I'm not familiar with the fine details of what happens in the Goblin's story, what exactly is to happen now?"

Sarah stared at him for a moment, her brain working slowly, the she realized unlike her experience with the Labyrinth, he didn't have the advantage of reading the story before living it, "Oh right." She thought to herself for a moment, thinking on a way to explain it.

Micah waited patiently as he placed the book neatly back, looking at the others.

"So you know that the Goblin King wished you away for whatever reason, yeah?" She asked after a moment of silence.

"Yes I do." Micah said, smiling on how easily it was to get on his sibling's nerves.

She nodded, "Okay, so typically how these things go is in order to get whatever you wished away, you have to do something to get it back."

Micah looked at her then, wondering if she was aware or not that Jareth did the same from time to time, "So what is it that my dear brother has to do in order for me to return?"

Sarah hesitated for a moment, indecision to tell him or not was written clearly across her face, though she couldn't see the harm in being straightforward, "He agreed to help me get rid of… well whatever this granting wishes thing."

"You wish to extinguish your magic?" He had never heard of such an absurd thing, to live without magic in his world would be like to live without air, "Why?"

She gestured her hand around her disaster of a room, "Because, answering a goblin's call at three o'clock in the morning isn't exactly what I would call a good time, especially when they leave this for me to clean up afterwards."

He still failed to see her logic, "Is that all you can do though? Grant wishes?"

"I…" Sarah stopped herself from replying, because she didn't know in all honesty. She had never seen any other evidence of magic anywhere else. She of course could do such things as call on her friends and cross over into the Labyrinth if she so wanted to, but she that wasn't her doing- that was the magic of the Underground itself. Wasn't it?

He raised an eyebrow, reading her confused expression, "Have you tried to do anything other than answering a summons?"

"Not that I know of," She admitted after a moment.

Micah had been right on some level, although she wasn't a youth by mortal standards, she was new with magic, which explained apparent signature she had left throughout the Goblin City, "Are you aware of how you obtained your magic?"

She shook her head, "Not at all." She ran a hand through her hair that had steadily been losing its curl throughout the night, "I was perfectly fine one day and then _poof! _I'm standing in the middle of a goblin's living room getting told I'm this legendary girl or something."

"Interesting," Micah sat down on her vanity chair, a thoughtful finger tapped his chin as he was temporarily lost in his theories. His foot lightly brushed against something on the floor, he glanced at the object the bright red cover attracting him. He stretched his arm to pick up the small book that had been torn from the shelves and not quite yet made it back yet, the gold lettering of the title sparked his interest more than any other, he started to pull back to cover for the first few pages when Sarah suddenly got up off of her bed. Quickly, he pocketed the book, with all intentions to read it later.

"Well, I suppose you're going to need somewhere to sleep." She ran a hand through her long hair, ignoring the feeling of it being thick and clumped from the hairspray. She really needed a shower, but just couldn't bring herself to do much else but want to sleep now. "You can take my bed, and I'll take the couch while you're here."

Micah blinked at her while she gathered blankets, "You're going to give your prisoner your own bed?"

Sarah stopped what she was doing, "What on Earth makes you think you're a prisoner?"

"Well, you are holding me in exchange for something." He said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

She had to refrain from sighing once more, "Look, you're not a prisoner. It's more like… we're all in a contract. You're staying with me for thirteen days, your brother gets some motivation and I get some help, but after those thirteen days, presto, you're back in your own home."

"That's quite a way to put it, though you do not fear I will try to rebel or escape?" He asked.

She looked to him then, one hand on her hip, ready to go to bed, "Well, are you?"

"I…" He was entirely thrown off by her straightforwardness and attitude that went along with it, "I… well, no." He said simply and honestly in return, "No. I was not planning on it."

"Then there you go. If that's everything, I'm off to bed." She gathered the rest of the blankets, "Bathroom is just to your left, wake me if you need anything."

He nodded silently, endlessly being surprised by this world, her blind trust was something he hadn't experienced since he was a child. Though, he knew not everything is always what it seems. He felt there was something more, she was too vague for his liking. Thoughts swirled in his head as he shrugged off his jacket and laid down on the bed that was pleasantly comfortable. He had failed to realize how late it had gotten or how tired he actually felt. He would have a list of questions for Sarah in the morning but for now, sleep didn't seem like such a bad idea.

Sarah tried her best not to think too much into things as she curled up on her couch, ready to meet the sandman. It wasn't working at all however; her mind got the best of her, creating horrible little ideas as she closed her eyes. For instance, if Jareth did succeed in helping her, would she still be able to see Hoggle, Sir Didymus, Ludo or even the few goblins that came around? Maybe she would she be permanently 'Just Human' after all. Could she deal with a lifetime of babysitting various types of poultry for the sake of her friendship? After only a second's thought she definitely decided that she could, though it might destroy all of her relationships with friends and even her family in this world, not to mention any guy. She imagined Karen calling her, asking if she had a boyfriend yet, she would have to answer no. After all, the impending promise of having to just randomly disappear at any given moment at the wish of a mythical creature was kind of deal breaker in the Aboveground. Though, what was an ordinary, traditional life in comparison to the endless wonders and adventures that came with the Labyrinth?

She turned, drifting off to sleep with warm dreams of kind beasts, grumpy dwarves, fearless foxes and their noble steed, all tangled in a web of tan stone.

* * *

_Reviews are **awesome**. Just sayin._


End file.
